Who says that you have to be a professional fashion designer in order to create fashion?
I say, as long as you are creative enough to bring your ideas to life, all you need is
a little fabric and a mannequin!
Join me as I am dressing up my mannequin for Christmas ;)
The thing with me is, that I have always wanted to become a fashion designer during my high school days. I thought it'd be THE dream job for me. Hence I studied fashion design books, beauty guides, style magazines etc. whenever I had time to spare.
But as I grew older my passion for fashion design shifted from main obsession to freetime activity. That's just how things turned out for me.
BUT nonetheless my love for design has never really burnt out completely. From time to time I still feel overtaken by my inner designer.
And it is at those times when I take out my mannequin (yes, I have a mannequin standing in my room ;) and create a mood-, occasion-, season-themed dress.
It's all about being inspired and trying to express what you invision in your head! Once you pinned that vision down all you need is leftover fabric, ribbons, accessories and whatever material you can find lying around in your house.
Today our theme is Christmas!
Let's get inspired by all the festiveness, the glamourous atmosphere, the glitterly decorations and the beautifully wrapped gifts under our Christmas trees and let me show you how I turn a bunch of fabric into a cute gown ☆_☆
Step 1 - A rough idea
How to get an idea of the cut, the details, the colour theme...???
Don't stress out! (Unless you are a real fashion designer who follows a super professional concept while designing a collection under a harsh deadline) you shouldn't worry about anything.
Instead look around and find something that inspires you, be it one of your clothing items, be it a flower, be it a character in the book you just read, be it whatever!
The inspiration in my case: Christmas gifts, wrapped in black, red, white, silver!
You got an idea, a theme, a pattern? - Then let's get into it!
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| source: http://www.colourbox.com |
Step 2 - The materials
Wander around in your home and search for materials you could use for your design. Or ask your mum, whether she has some leftover fabric.
(Trust me, most mums do have stuff like that lying around, hahaha.)
Another great fabric source is your own closet. Don't you have shirts that you never ever really wear, pants that don't fit anymore, scarves that collect dust in the back corner of your wardrobe?
(Trust me, in most cases you do have things like that in your closet, hahaha.)
And here's another smart tip: Collect materials over the years. Don't throw away things that you or your family members don't wear anymore. You can always revamp those items and turn them into some awesome "designer" items.
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| Here is what I am going to work with: Sheer, shiny fabric that my mum uses for decorative matters around the house. And surprise, they happen to bear the colours I was looking for! |
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| This might also come in handy: some ribbon and elastic bands. |
Step 3 - Pinning it down
I usually don't need to make sketches of my design once I have the inspiration. But feel free to take a pencil and draw some outlines of how you want the dress (in my case) to turn out.
If you also feel like skipping that step or if you just feel super adventurous like me (he he he) then grab your pins and give your mannequin her new dress plus an acupuncture treatment for free (if you know what I mean ;).
And again don't worry about a lack of knowledge when it comes to the different cuts and textures that a dress normally has. You'll notice how the pins will come in handy when you need to create ruching, pleats, foldings etc. Try to hold things in place and then use as many pins as needed to secure the fabric onto your mannequin. Even saftely pins, belts and elastic bands will be of great help.
Think of it as a experiment and be nothing but creative!
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| There we have my mannequin all "naked"...XD |
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| So let's give her some coverage: I decided to go with a white base. What you see here is actually a huge white curtain (don't worry, I did ask mum before using it!) All I did to create that slightly pleated look was to take an elastic band, fold the curtain several times until I had the length I was satisfied with and weave the band through one of the foldings. I pinned my newly created A-line skirt at waist-height onto the mannequin and tugged at the elastic band until I got the desired shape. |
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| Uuuh, that acupuncture looks painful, right? XD Anyways, for the top part of the dress I took a black piece of leftover cotton fabric and pinned it around the mannequin's chest like a corset. And to top it all off and give the upper half that extra volume, I decided to go with an all-around ruffle collar line. Easiest way to achieve the ruffles is to crunch the fabric together and hold it in place with safety pins or even weaving another thin elastic band through the fabric and tugging it all in until you achieve the desired texture. I used a dark wine-red sheer fabric because it's a very light material that is easy to form. Later on I also used the same techniques to add ruching to the hem of the dress. |
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| And to tie it all together, literally, I took this gorgeous vibrant red fabric and put it in between the skirt's waistband and the corset's hem. I think that the white and the red go super well together. |
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| Pulling everything nicely together I simply tied it into a big voluminous bow in the back. This represents the bows on all the beautifully wrapped gifts. Doesnt't this remind you guys of Sailor Moon's suit too? ☆ |
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| Voilà! This is how it looks like from the front. I added a fake red rose to make the dress appear even girlier and princess-like! ;) |
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| To cinch in the waist a little bit more and to add on a cute ribbon accent, I took this dark red ribbon band and tied it at the front of the dress. It's all about the little details, right? |
Step 4 - The finishing touches
An outfit is not complete without accessories. Your design is no exception to that rule.
Once you pinned down your creation and you're satisfied with the result take some extra time to go through your own accessory collection and select items that go well with the dress you just made. You'll recognize how your design instantly looks more professional with a nice necklace or a matching belt on the mannequin.
Or in my case: A cute little hat that has the theme-matched colours and a sweet rose on it!
Step 5 - Bring it to life
If you really intend to wear the dress by yourself or make someone else wear it - this is where sewing and tailoring know-how is needed. Pinning a design down is just the first step to creating a real dress.
If you're familiar with using sewing machines and the basic cuts of a dress, then putting together your design shouldn't be a problem. If you need help you always have the option to ask your mother, aunt or grandma. Or you could, of course, work with guiding books and tutorials (like me). It's up to you!
In my case I usually go really crazy with the themes my gowns and dresses are created after. Simply because my main inspirations come from fairy tales and fantasy characters since I love to live my dreams through my creations. I guess it's not only my inner designer but also my inner little princess who comes to light when I invision a cute gown. So the only possible occasion for me to really wear my designs out would be either cosplay events or halloween and carneval and the like, hahaha.
This is why I choose to let my manneqiun sport my designs for decorative means.
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| There we go! Doesn't my mannequin look cuuuuuuuuute :) |
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| And doesnt't she look like a giant Christmas gift next to my tiny Christmas tree? :D Anyways, I hope you guys got inspired to challenge your inner fashion designer and other than that don't just draw inspirations from your Christmas gift wrapping, but also enjoy unwrapping your gifts! :D MERRY CHRISTMAS! |
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